The next morning Stella waited for Justin outside her house, basking in the warm sunlight. It was uncommon for Stella to be the one waiting, and the surprise on Justin’s face was visible when he noticed the girl.

“Well this is a rare sight,” he said. “What brings you out of your abode this early? How long have you been waiting?”

“The weather is nice,” Stella said, “and I’ve been dying to know how your date went.”

Justin blushed and started walking faster. Stella hurrie after him.

“It wasn’t a date.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Did you kiss?”

“N-no! We just talked about school and cats.”

“Really? Melanie finally gathered courage to ask you out and then didn’t confess her feelings.”

“She asked me for a second dat–‌ coffee.”

“Ooh, what did you say?”

“That it’d be nice. But we haven't settled a day yet. I like talking to her, but I don’t like her in that way. So, I feel like it’d be mean to agree on a second date when I doubt nothing comes out of it.”

“Yeah, maybe. But if you subtly hint you’re going as a friend, maybe it’d be fine. And maybe you’ll start to like her if you talk more?”

“It’s a possibility, but I’m not sure if I want to try liking her more. There’s nothing wrong with her, and she’s really nice, but I don’t feel any kind of spark. I don’t want things to turn awkward or make her think I’m leading her on.”

Dating Melanie should’ve been easy. It was clear that she had a crush on him; even Justin noticed it. She was pretty; brown wavy hair and big blue eyes. She was smart and kind. She wasn’t from a rich family, but Justin’s parents would’ve probably accepted her. But he didn’t feel the pull. It was almost frustrating in a way. Justin had never had the urge to date anyone, but it would’ve been nice. Now that he had a chance, he felt nothing.

“Well, you don’t need to decide on it right now,” Stella said. “But in my opinion, you should at least go on the second coffee not-date and see how things develop.”

“I’ll think about it.”

It could be worth trying to see how things would progress.

*

Quinn had considered skipping the PE lesson due to the fall, but his muscles didn’t hurt enough for his conscience to justify it, even if the chance to go home an hour early tempted him greatly. It would’ve been lying, and as much as he disliked sports, he wasn’t a liar. Luckily they played soccer, so he could stand at the edge of the field and hope no one kicked the ball in his direction.

The whole class had gathered at the center of the soccer field. Some took off their hoodies or long-sleeved shirts since the sun blazed from a clear sky. Quinn was also starting to sweat in his black clothes, but he’d have to endure it.

“We’re playing soccer today,” Mr Armostrong started, ”I was thinking of mixed teams–”

The girls erupted in complaints and groans of disappointment. They didn’t like playing with the boys. They were always so pushy and ready to run over them.

“Can we have our own game?” Melanie asked. A few other girls nodded.

“Oh, sure, of course, if you want to. All the girls who don’t want to play with the boys can move to the other field. Decide on your teams. I’ll check on you shortly.”

All the other girls apart from Stella, Amanda and Alexa hurried to the other field, happy that they didn’t need to be in the line of fire from the sports-crazed guys.

“Stand in a line. Jamie, take a step forward. Thomas, a step back. And so on,” Mr Armstrong instructed.

The students did as told and glanced around to find their teammates. Quinn was in the same team with Jamie, Basim, Kaspar, Justin and Amanda. Stella and Castiel had ended up in the opposing team together. Oh no.

The teams move towards their own ends of the field to strategise. Quinn looked at their team. Basim played soccer, so he’d essentially have to carry the team. Quinn had no idea about the other people. He knew Jamie didn’t like sports and doubted Justin was an athlete either. Amanda had volunteered to play with the boys. At least she would have a good attitude and probably more athletic capabilities than Jamie and Quinn combined.

They shared roles for everyone before the game started. Jamie volunteered himself as the goalkeeper. Justin and Quinn ended up as the defense, and Basim, Kaspar and Amanda would be the attackers. On the other side, Castiel and Stella were unsurprisingly the offense with Leon as the third. Alexa and Magnus defended, and Thomas was the goalkeeper.

Everyone took their positions and the game started. According to his plan, Quinn moved to a quiet spot near the edge of the field. No one would come there, but he could see the action in the field. Basim fought for ball control with Castiel, while Stella and Leon were being blocked by Amanda and Kaspar. Amanda and Leon’s struggle seemed more like flirting with all the playful shoving and laughing, but Stella and Kaspar were serious. Stella was constantly trying to gain an edge over Kaspar, who moved in sync with the girl, making sure she wouldn’t have a direct line to Castiel. Stella’s cheeks were red and strands of her short hair had escaped from her ponytail. There was no sign in her movement that she had fallen off a ladder a few days ago. Quinn was relieved. When Jamie had told Stella hadn’t been in school, Quinn had been so worried that she had gotten seriously hurt. But no one could’ve guessed that had happened from the way she moved. Stella didn’t hesitate to push forward, and she managed to slip past Kaspar just as Castiel kicked the ball past Basim.

Stella dashed after the ball that dangerously rolled towards Quinn. He stared at it in daze, not sure what to do.

“Get the ball!” Basim shouted at him.

It woke Quinn enough to push his body to react. He ran towards the ball and reached it seconds before Stella. He didn’t have time to kick it, but he managed to remove it out of her reach.

Stella didn’t hesitate. She came right into his personal space, so close they almost touched

“Come on, give me the ball,” she said while trying to reach around Quinn.

“N-no, I don’t think I will.”

Stella laughed and tried to snag the ball, but Quinn managed to keep himself between the girl and the ball. Stella’s hand brushed Quinn’s side when she tried to keep her balance, and the boy gasped and nearly jumped out of his skin. Quinn’s face grew hot. Did Stella notice?

If she had, she didn’t acknowledge it in any way. Her focus was on the ball, and Quinn tried to gather his thoughts and keep Stella away. The struggle lasted a few more seconds before Basim ran to them, and the two against one situation forced Stella to back off enough for Basim to snag the ball to himself and kick it away. Before she ran after Basim and the ball, Stella glanced over her shoulder at Quinn.

Quinn wasn’t sure if it was the gesture, the look in Stella’s brown eyes or the little quirk of smile on her lips, but his whole face flushed red. Stella’s smile grew bigger and then she ran off. Quinn’s heart thumped in his chest.

A couple of minutes later Quinn’s team celebrated a goal, but quickly Castiel and Stella’s teamwork evened the score. They gave a quick high five to each other before both wiped their hands in their clothes.

The match continued, and Quinn managed to avoid engaging in it too much. A few times he had to kick the ball towards his teammates, and he did a little bit of running when the teacher looked his way. When Mr Armstrong whistled to signal the end of the game, it ended in a draw; three goals for each team.

“Great game. There were some excellent plays and great effort,” Mr Armstrong said to the group of panting students. 

Stella fanned her shirt to cool herself. The rest of the girls who had joined back in looked tired as well, apart from Mercedes and her friends. Compared to them, Quinn had been like a professional athlete.

“Tomorrow we’ll be outside too if weather permits, probably doing athletics so prepare for that. Remember to stretch and drink water before you head home. Have a good day.”

The students walked off, some towards the changing rooms and some to grab their bags from the edge of the field and head home directly.

“That was a pretty good match. Holding back Stella like that.... chef’s kiss.”

Quinn almost had a heart attack when Jamie appeared out of nowhere and clapped him on the shoulder.

“I’m happy I didn’t have to go against Castiel,” Quinn said. He was proud of himself for not losing the ball to Stella. Maybe he had even had a bit of fun. Now he could spend the rest of the afternoon playing games.